The Medical Supplies

Gum elastica or caoutchouc (pron. cow-tchook) was one of the several non-drug substances commonly purchased from druggists in the early 19th century. It came to be called “rubber” because of its excellent ability to remove pencil marks. We can only speculate that Israel Whelan bought this substance for just that use by the captains.^[1]Dispensatory of the United States of America (Philadelphia, 1918), 1367-69.

India Ink

(China)

Dyes, inks, and flavorings were drugstore specialties in the young United States. The Corps purchased a quarter pound of so-called India ink (it usually came from China). This product was commonly made up in sticks from a dried mixture of lampblack and vegetable gum.

Copperas

(Mineral native to USA)

By the early 1800s, the term “copperas” was fading away, being replaced by more accurate chemical terminology. Confusingly, there was a family of sulfates sold under this rubric–”white copperas” (zinc), “blue copperas” (copper), and “green copperas” (iron) being the most common. Simply “copperas” probably meant a mixture of green and blue, with the green predominating. Iron sulfate (vitriol of iron) was commonly prescribed at the time as a tonic or as an agent against intestinal worms. A chemical with a wide variety of uses, copperas was an ingredient in permanent ink, which may have been the reason for the large amount purchased by Whelan.^[2]Edinburgh New Dispensatory (1791), 429-430.

Containers, Kits, Lancets, Etc.

Physicians commonly purchased their surgical and related supplies from druggists. At Gillaspy and Strong, Whelan picked up the essentials: a pocket set of surgical instruments, a dental kit (mainly tools to extract teeth), a clyster (enema) syringe, four penile syringes for treating gonorrhea, three “best” lancets, a small quantity of patent lint (otherwise known then as “linen scrapings”)^[3]Noah Webster, A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language (1806; reprint, New York: Bounty Books, 1970)., a very expensive tourniquet (see below), and a variety of containers. For amputations and other major surgical procedures, the captains would have carpenter’s tools at their disposal. (Asepsis, including the sterilization of instruments, was still 80 years in the future.)

Aside from the tourniquet, the other items are pretty routine: Dental hygiene at the time was mediocre, so tooth pulling was a common event in the military. There were only two complaints of toothache during the entire journey; no extractions were necessary.

Enemas were used in ancient times as well as among pre-historic cultures to treat a wide variety of afflictions. Apparently, Lewis administered only one during the whole journey. In late May of 1806, Sacagawea‘s 15-month-old son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau ran a fever accompanied by some sort of a throat or glandular ailment, which failed to respond to either “a doze of creem of tartar” or “a fresh poltice of onions,” so Lewis resorted to an enema, or “clyster.” The problem cleared up by the very next day.^[4]Moulton, Journals, 24-26 May 1806.

Just as the large quantity of cinchona bark indicated that Lewis anticipated intermittent fever along the journey, his request of four penis syringes reflected his concerns over venereal disease. Trappers and traders who returned from the West told of rampant venereal disease among the Indians. Thomas Lowry states that a solution of sugar of lead (lead acetate) would have been injected into the urethra with a penis syringe to soothe the pain associated with gonorrhea. (The two distinct diseases, syphilis and gonorrhea, were not clearly differentiated at the time of the expedition. Physicians treated syphilitic symptoms such as skin lesions with mercury compounds, while they administered oral drugs like copaiba or soothing injections for the dysuria and discharge associated with gonorrhea.) Lewis gave at least three men–Gibson, Goodrich and McNeal–intensive, long-term mercury treatments for syphilis.^[5]Thomas P. Lowry, Venereal Disease and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004), 43-44.

Lancets were absolutely essential to medical (and veterinary) practice of the day to open up veins for bleeding out bad humors. And the various containers were probably used for things other than medicinal storage or compounding.

Tourniquet

In his book on the medical aspects of the Lewis and Clark expedition, David J. Peck looks over the list of supplies and is surprised by the tourniquet costing $3.50, remarking, “it must have been embroidered or laced with gold.”^[6]Peck, Or Perish in the Attempt, 52. The source of this expensive item can be traced back to the junior partner of the firm of Gillaspy & Strong. The tourniquet answers as well the question of why purveyor Whelan, a well-known Free or “fighting” Quaker, went to the obscure firm of Gillaspy and Strong rather than established Free Quaker druggists such as the Marshalls or the Wetherills.

In 1801, a patent was issued to a Joseph Strong of Pennsylvania for his invention of the axle tourniquet. By using a ratchet and key apparatus connected to the belt of the tourniquet, a surgeon was able to exert greater and more precise pressure.

Strong’s first model sold for $4, which was a large sum but understandable when its several hand-made parts needed to work together smoothly under considerable tension.^[7]“Dr. Strong’s Account of his Axle Tourniquet, in a Letter addressed to the Editor of the Philadelphia Medical Museum,” Philadelphia Medical Museum, vol. 1 (1804-5), 311-317.

A cousin of the martyred Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale, Joseph Strong was born 10 March 1770 and probably started his medical career working in the drugstore of Drs. Asa and Daniel Hopkins of Hartford, Connecticut. After graduating from Yale in 1788, he made his way down to Philadelphia and studied medicine under Benjamin Rush. Like many others, he did not return for a second round of the same courses and did not graduate. Instead, he joined the army as a surgeon’s mate and served in General Wayne’s Legion in the Ohio Campaign. In 1796, after the conclusion of Wayne’s campaign, Strong left the service and returned to Philadelphia, where he practiced as a surgeon and physician. Apparently, he renewed his acquaintance with Dr. Rush and aspired to become a member of the Philadelphia medical establishment. His tourniquet did gain favorable attention from some of his colleagues. Strong had an entrepreneurial spirit and tried his hand in a wide variety of business ventures such as manufacturing white lead. Between 1798 and his death in 1812, he moved several times, which perhaps reflects his changing business interests. He died in 1812 from yellow fever.^[8]Lockwood Barr, “Joseph Strong, M.D., Yale 1788: Army Surgeon, Inventor, Practitioner of Physic,” Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, vol. 13, no. 4 (1941), 429-450; “Dr. Joseph … Continue reading